US' return to Asia troubles all

Updated: 2012-11-30 22:22

(chinadaily.com.cn)

The United States' carrying its banner of return to Asia and the Pacific has triggered complicated changes in the way of thinking in the region. The return has become a sensitive topic for many decision-makers in the region. It seems they must make a choice between China and the US.

The interests of the US and China increasingly overlap in East Asia, which may lead to conflicts, but integration as well. As the US and China have no choice but to co-exist with each other in the region, why not make it an opportunity to construct a new model of relations between big countries, instead of a battlefield of confrontations?

Both China and the US should be clear-headed about their identities in the region. No Southeast Asian country welcomes hegemony. Most of them hope to benefit from the robust economic growth of China and the sustainable economic recovery of the US, and the two countries together can contribute to regional stability and prosperity.

The US obviously needs to heed these hopes more than China. In a multipolar world, there is not much space left for hegemony. The US should make itself a constructive cooperator equal with the countries, which will gives the US more profits than turning out as a hegemonic intruder.

This US' role change will also ease local countries' nervousness and anxiety while choosing sides between the US and China.

The rise of China has further promoted the integration and prosperity of the region. This is a historical trend and an established fact that the US has to learn to adapt to.

The fate of the return-to-Asia strategy does not lie in how China reacts to it, but how the US behaves itself in China's neighborhood.